12 March 2009

crewmembers of the international space station were briefly evacuated to the soyuz escape vehicle due to a sudden danger of space debris striking the space station.

msnbc: nasa thought the piece of debris, .009 meters in width [0.35 inch], traveling at 17,000 mph [27,358 kmh] was going to pass within 4.5 kilometers [3 miles] of the space station at 11:39 a.m. cdt.

nasa: Space Station Debris Threat Passes

The debris threat to the International Space Station has passed. The crew was notified of the all clear at 12:45 p.m. EDT [11:45 a.m. CDT]. The crew will depart the Soyuz and return the station to normal operations.